I have my boat listed on a couple of sites and keep getting texts and emails from different numbers requesting the same things and saying they are out of the country or in the mountains and will pay through my Paypal account. I do not get it........of course I wouldn't let someone leave with boat until their $ was in my hand. I assume this is some sort of scam. Anyone else have similar experience?

I had a guy trying to buy my 23' snowmobile trailer for $2500 a couple weeks ago the same way. I use Paypal a lot, but this just didn't smell right. I don't know how they could hack that system, but I wasn't going to find out if they could.

It is a complete and total scam. Let me guess, the emails you have received say something to the effect of he likes you vehicle or item for sale and will give you your asking price maybe even a bit more. His friend or business partner will pick up the boat once you receive payment..... problem is, they use a stolen Paypal account to send you the money or sometimes even their own. Then once they have the boat and title, they will file a PayPal dispute stating they did not receive the merchandise. You will be out the boat and money. Cash and bank transfer are really the only save methods these days. If you accept a check or money order, do not release the title or boat until your bank has verified the funds have cleared.

agreed

same for me! +1 !

cash or wire transfer

Scam Scam scam.


John jr

I had a somewhat similar event with e-bay, but I was the potential "buyer". Nice boat showed up on e-bay about 2 hrs from my house ... I sent the guy a message through e-bay (not e-mail) a day or two before the auction closed and he responded back ~ 1 hr after it closed saying the buyer did not provide funding (6:00 pm on a Sunday?). I asked to get phone number so I could talk to him ... he responds that he is deaf since birth, can't use phone. I ask for address ... he offers to "ship" the boat to me. I tell him that my friend is a local cop in his town and due to his unfortunate circumstances (deaf, "dog hounds" after him for the mortgage, but all paperwork on boat is clear (???), my friend could come over to his house and just look at the boat for me until I could get there on the weekend ... scammer instantly shuts down his account(s).

Here is the ironic part of all this ... This scammer setup an e-mail account in the real boat owners name, an e-bay account using the real owners name, with the boat location at the real boat owners city/state, a PAYPAL account in the real boat owners name (all you need to get PAYPAL account is a real e-mail account), and linked pictures from the real boat owners photobucket account. Basically, he assumed the real owners identity. Pretty Scary!!

Just a word about postal money orders too. I'm a postmaster and I confiscated a couple counterfeit money orders from a customer a while back. They had been sent to her for payment of an item she was selling. She was on her way to the bank because I didn't have that kind of money to cash them. They were "good" fakes. I took them to the bank and they would have cashed them. Thats when I reminded the bank president I had showed his employees a few months earlier what to look for....they completely forgot about it. Luckily the woman hadn't shipped the item she was selling. Of course the buyer never tried to contact her either to see if she had cashed the money orders. The best advice is deal with people you know and trust. If someone comes to pay for your stuff with cash, have one of those security pens to make sure the cash is real.

Same problem in Canada 3 weeks ago on my boat sale.

This is a loophole with Paypal.

Can you imagine loosing your boat like this...

Bunch of F......


Here is the email



Thanks for your mail...Would love to know your lowest asking price cos i will not be able to come for inspection,am a very busy type as i work long hours everyday,i do go through your advertisement and i am satisfied with it.

As for the payment..i will be paying you via the fastest and secure way to pay online(PayPal).

I have a private courier agent that will come for the pick up after the payment have been made ..

You can now send me your PayPal email so i can pay in right away and also include your address in your reply.If you don't have a paypal account, you can easily set up one...log on to www.paypal.com. and sign up. its very easy.I await your reply asap.

P.S Kindly ignore any similars email or texts and deal with me directly....

Another trick to this paypal scam, is they will change the address that they want you to send it to at the last minute, to an unconfirmed address, then as soon as they are sure the item, boat, car, or whatever you sold, is on the way, they will cancel their payment, and when you dispute it, paypal will side with the scammer, because you sent unconfirmed. Very important to use tracking numbers, delivery confirmation, and on a boat, car or high ticket item, I would not do a paypal deal unless it was my shipper delivering the boat, and under my control at all times.
If a buyer is unwilling to do a deal in person, or wire the funds directly, chances are it is a scam.